arnold40844

Its a massive improvement! In hindsight I probably should not have used starch though ...

I think i will try my luck with it..

Genious!! I like your lateral thinking. I will try and use a slighty damp tea towel and an extremely flat surface and see how I go.

Pages just a little wavy?

Try ironing the pages on a low heat setting.

I am actually seriously considering flying back to the UK for 2 days to get a new passport. this may be the best option.

Hi there, I was hoping to get a few opinions on a current pickle I have found myself in.

1. British Citizen residing in Thailand
2. Trip booked to Malaysia in 3 weeks for the F1
3. Passport got wet last week

As mentioned above I have flights booked to Kuala Lumphur in about 3 weeks for the F1, I am currently using the extension of a non-o based on visiting my son to stay in Thailand. This was extended in CW last week, the passport was damaged at the time, she made reference to it getting wet and suggested that I replaced it as soon as possible. This did not stop her from adding the 60 day stamp though.

The plan was to get a re-entry permit and fly out to Malaysia at the end of the month, flying back a few days later. Given that my passport is damaged I am seriously concerned about using it to fly. the damage is very light, all the visas are visible and there is no clear damage other than the pages are a little wavy.

My question are as follows;

1. If I go down the ETC route, can I get my current visa added to it with the extension adding a re-entry permit, or am I going to be sent back to the UK in Malaysia?
2. Has anyone recently been to Malaysia and experienced an issue with a tatty passport? i know Cost Rica is very strict..
3. My Visa will be up in a little over 6 weeks, its cutting it to tight to apply now. Will I be okay staying here on Emergency document or will I need to cross a border with an ETD?

I am getting married in 4 weeks and really did not need the hassle of not having a passport for 2 months, it will likely disrupt a lot of plans. As the damage to the passport is very light, I am tempted to just risk it, get to the F1, get married, get a non-o multi and then change it.

Any input or opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. Bearing in mind I am aware of all the risks here, i am aware that if I risk it I may be deported from Malaysia to the UK.

No one is named on the BC currently. All sorted this morning anyway, did the test, slipped the guy 2k to put an urgent stamp on it stating limited time on visa. Should all be sorted in good time hopefully. Thanks for all your comments.

Apparently I have to go to the one on the blue book, you cannot just pick an Amphur.... This is what I have been told anyway.

One key question here that I would like answered is.. They were saying that we could not get married until this is sorted and that if we did it would nearly impossible to sort out further down the line.. Can this be true? I mean if I am the biological father, married to the mother with another child, could it really be that difficult to sort out?

I was in the UK at the time of my daughters birth, I had lost my job in London, we lost the flat, she went back to Thailand the plan was for me to head out after a few months, did not happen. I had a limited amount of time to get the documents over, had to apply for a new passport and birth certificate as they were lost. I did not take it to seriously if im honest, just figured I would sort it out when I was in the country. 6 months after the birth they came back to the UK, we were there for 18 months, now we are back in Thailand and seems we have been trying to sort it out for 2 years.

If I wait till my daughter is 7 they just take her word for it right? Im ust so sick of nonsense. The law does not state an age, so I take it that its at the discretion of some single figure IQ minimum wager with a clip board? What i dont understand is.. Is it 7, 6, 5, 4, I have heard stories of 3 being fine. I would be happy to hand them 20k tomorrow if they can just sort this out. I just want to know what it will take.

My paternity is not in question here. I just want to know how I am supposed to move forward, they seem hesitant even with DNA.

As anyone can make a child but that does not make them a parent.

You've answered your own question. A birth certificate requires a biological parent and any four year old would claim that anyone who had raised her for the past 4 years of her life as her father would be her parent - it doesn't however make him her biological father. I do find it strange that your girlfriend did not register you as the biological father as after all she should know, surely had the right to do so and would be aware that there was only a limited amount of time to do so.

What if by some crazy unforeseen turn of events I am not the biological father and that he is a retired Belgian fisherman residing in the outer Hebrides. Would I never be able to be the legal parent?
A DNA test could only determine the fact that you were not the father but could not identify the real father. In that case your only option to be a legal parent would be through adoption with your girlfriend stating that she did not know who the real father was. For birth certificate purposes, a DNA test is the only way to conclusively prove that you are the biological father. You've waited 4 years for whatever reasons so I don't think another 60 days is going to make alot of difference.

I was in the UK at the time of my daughters birth, I had lost my job in London, we lost the flat, she went back to Thailand the plan was for me to head out after a few months, did not happen. I had a limited amount of time to get the documents over, had to apply for a new passport and birth certificate as they were lost. I did not take it to seriously if im honest, just figured I would sort it out when I was in the country. 6 months after the birth they came back to the UK, we were there for 18 months, now we are back in Thailand and seems we have been trying to sort it out for 2 years.

If I wait till my daughter is 7 they just take her word for it right? Im ust so sick of nonsense. The law does not state an age, so I take it that its at the discretion of some single figure IQ minimum wager with a clip board? What i dont understand is.. Is it 7, 6, 5, 4, I have heard stories of 3 being fine. I would be happy to hand them 20k tomorrow if they can just sort this out. I just want to know what it will take.

My paternity is not in question here. I just want to know how I am supposed to move forward, they seem hesitant even with DNA.

As anyone can make a child but that does not make them a parent.

You've answered your own question. A birth certificate requires a biological parent and any four year old would claim that anyone who had raised her for the past 4 years of her life as her father would be her parent - it doesn't however make him her biological father. I do find it strange that your girlfriend did not register you as the biological father as after all she should know, surely had the right to do so and would be aware that there was only a limited amount of time to do so.

What if by some crazy unforeseen turn of events I am not the biological father and that he is a retired Belgian fisherman residing in the outer Hebrides. Would I never be able to be the legal parent?
A DNA test could only determine the fact that you were not the father but could not identify the real father. In that case your only option to be a legal parent would be through adoption with your girlfriend stating that she did not know who the real father was. For birth certificate purposes, a DNA test is the only way to conclusively prove that you are the biological father. You've waited 4 years for whatever reasons so I don't think another 60 days is going to make alot of difference.

I am hoping someone here can give me some sort of clarity around this predicament. It seems there is a lot of conflicting information from certain parties.

I live in Thailand I live with my girlfriend (not married), we have 2 children 1 and 4. I am on my sons birth certificate but not my 4 year old daughters. I was in the UK when she was born and did not get the documents over in time. I have lived with them their entire lives and my girlfriend and I are getting married next month.

We had been trying to marry sooner but apparently we cant get married until I am on my daughters birth certificate as her father, we have been down several unsuccessful routes to do this with no success, Amphur, hush money etc.. It would appear that the only option I now have and something we're doing tomorrow morning is to get a DNA test. At first they said they would need to test us all, at 8000 baht each, at which point I got shouty and sweary. I mean a surgeon removed my daughter from my girlfriend in a hospital, it cost me 80k and she is on the birth certificate. After a bit of an argument they agreed to just test me and my daughter at a cost of 16000 baht, plus tea money. They said that if we got married before I was on the birth certificate it was be almost impossible to add myself at a later date, it causes me great pain to even think about how stupid this sounds, but that is what they said.

My issue with this is basically. I have paid for every pair of shoes my daughter has worn, I send her to a decent international school, I have changed her nappies, taken her to the doctors when she is unwell, we have setup up savings accounts for their higher education etc. Now other than the philosophical argument that could be made here, i.e. what constitutes being a parent in this country.. As anyone can make a child but that does not make them a parent. What if my girlfriend was raped? What if by some crazy unforeseen turn of events I am not the biological father and that he is a retired Belgian fisherman residing in the outer Hebrides. Would I never be able to be the legal parent?

The main question I have here is. Is this the right way to go or are they just taking me for a ride? Why will the Amphur only sometimes take the child's word for it at 4 years old? Can I go to another Amphur? Is anything I have been told up to this point true and accurate?

Any suggestions would be great, I cant actually believe the cost and the fact that it takes 60 days is just insane. Any experiences or help would be great. We have been a happy family for 5 years and this is just taking the biscuit. My daughter is fluent in Thai and English, given the chance she will explain to anyone in whatever language who her father is.

And a further to this, are there insurance companies in Thailand that will cover you without question with an international driving licence or is there a requirement with all of them to have a Thai licence.

I agree. The real issue here is not whether i am legally allowed to drive in this country on my licence, as we all know the penalties and not enough to deter people from taking the risk. Insurance is a different matter and in this case the only real issue it seems.

If I am covered by my insurance company and they have confirmed this in writing.. why is not okay to drive on my UK licence??

After reading his question -- and seeing the many responses, I'm more confused than ever.

Seems there are about 62 different opinions on here.

Does anyone ever REALLY know the correct answer to insurance, eligibility, documents needed, etc.?

I love this forum.

Ask 10 guys a question about anything "Thai" and you'll get 27 totally different answers.

Answers:
Insurance: will depend on the policy conditions, without seeing those nobody can answer anything about this;
Documents needed: tourists: home license, with a few provisions, people staying here longer term: Thai license.

Nothing to do with opinions BTW, only with facts.

This information and that in stevenl's post #83 above is correct. Ignore everything else.

I agree. The real issue here is not whether i am legally allowed to drive in this country on my licence, as we all know the penalties and not enough to deter people from taking the risk. Insurance is a different matter and in this case the only real issue it seems.

If I am covered by my insurance company and they have confirmed this in writing.. why is not okay to drive on my UK licence??

After reading his question -- and seeing the many responses, I'm more confused than ever.

Seems there are about 62 different opinions on here.

Does anyone ever REALLY know the correct answer to insurance, eligibility, documents needed, etc.?

I love this forum.

Ask 10 guys a question about anything "Thai" and you'll get 27 totally different answers.

Answers:
Insurance: will depend on the policy conditions, without seeing those nobody can answer anything about this;
Documents needed: tourists: home license, with a few provisions, people staying here longer term: Thai license.

Nothing to do with opinions BTW, only with facts.

This information and that in stevenl's post #83 above is correct. Ignore everything else.

As always the primitive nature of this site shows its true colors by way of smarmy insults..

It is you sir who is the idiot, I just asked a question about the risks of driving without a Thai licence. There is no need to start with name calling.

When will these idiots understand that even if your Full Thai Licence has expired one has no Full Insurance. Report that little man.

Bangkok to Roi Et. I should be able to do it in 7 hours I think.

Despite all this stress I actually really do enjoy driving and am more than happy to make the trip.

Looking at the questions for this new theory test, some are just insane.

Which of the following vehicles is it prohibited to use on the road?

A: a vehicle with horn louder than 70 decibels

B: a tank

C: a vehicle displaying dealer plates

D: a vehicle without a windshield

Like everyone on here is saying, you should have a Thai licence by now. Your not a tourist any more with a Thai family. Your UK licence is only valid here for 3 months while your a tourist, so after 20 months its not valid. Your insurance company will tell you anything, they will tell you what you want to hear, remember where you are my son.

I've driven up country on a UK licence and got stopped several times, so will you, the police are looking for anything from trafficking people to drugs. There's lots of check points, its annoying as hell. You just get up to speed then you have to slow down and stop again. I would never ever drive up country again. When they stopped me they asked "where you come from?" I would say England, when they were actually wanting to know where have we come from in Thailand? At this point the policeman's little English caused my now ex-wife to chirp in and explain that we'd been to see her family in Issan, and we are on a driving holiday.

You'll be fine at the check points, but can't guarantee what will happen if you do have an accident. Remember your the foreigner and you'll get the blame anyway. Put a video camera on your dashboard, that's what I have now.

We foreigners are not the target the police are looking for unless you run a pirate website called pirate bay, or you make videos of homeless people doing crazy stuff and try to export human body parts. You don't do that do you?????

I know I should have got this together sooner, I have only been on a Non-O for 5 months and we only got the car 8 weeks ago. I did not even want the sodding thing, nothing but hassle.

To be honest I dont even know why im doing the trip, they are all flying up this weekend and rather than flying back we decided I would drive stay for 2 days before driving back. initially I was completely against the idea, mainly due to me not having a Thai licence.

Having looked in to it this really does seem like quite a chore. Am i right in saying that i have to go to the embassy, pay the best part of 4000 THB, wait for 8 hours, get the piece of paper they give me translated, then take another day off to get my licence?

Don't do it, just fly. You are already stressed out and after a day at immigration the last thing you want to be doing is driving all that way. Where are you driving from and to anyway? Sisaket to Chiang Mai is 14 hours. Chiang Mai to Pattaya 12 hours. Don't believe what your GPS tells you, you can add at least 25% on top of that easily. If your GPS says 8 hours to nakhon nowhere, you can guarantee it'll be 10.

Has your car got cruise control? If not, your right foot will be aching after driving all that way.

Like everyone on here is saying, you should have a Thai licence by now. Your not a tourist any more with a Thai family. Your UK licence is only valid here for 3 months while your a tourist, so after 20 months its not valid. Your insurance company will tell you anything, they will tell you what you want to hear, remember where you are my son.

I've driven up country on a UK licence and got stopped several times, so will you, the police are looking for anything from trafficking people to drugs. There's lots of check points, its annoying as hell. You just get up to speed then you have to slow down and stop again. I would never ever drive up country again. When they stopped me they asked "where you come from?" I would say England, when they were actually wanting to know where have we come from in Thailand? At this point the policeman's little English caused my now ex-wife to chirp in and explain that we'd been to see her family in Issan, and we are on a driving holiday.

You'll be fine at the check points, but can't guarantee what will happen if you do have an accident. Remember your the foreigner and you'll get the blame anyway. Put a video camera on your dashboard, that's what I have now.

We foreigners are not the target the police are looking for unless you run a pirate website called pirate bay, or you make videos of homeless people doing crazy stuff and try to export human body parts. You don't do that do you?????

I know I should have got this together sooner, I have only been on a Non-O for 5 months and we only got the car 8 weeks ago. I did not even want the sodding thing, nothing but hassle.

To be honest I dont even know why im doing the trip, they are all flying up this weekend and rather than flying back we decided I would drive stay for 2 days before driving back. initially I was completely against the idea, mainly due to me not having a Thai licence.

Having looked in to it this really does seem like quite a chore. Am i right in saying that i have to go to the embassy, pay the best part of 4000 THB, wait for 8 hours, get the piece of paper they give me translated, then take another day off to get my licence?

Thanks for all the posts and comments. Mostly very helpful.

As I think I mention i am trying to get a Thai licence in time, i am just not 100% sure I will have it before I depart.

Perhaps someone here could offer me some advice on I go about getting proof of address in Thailand so i can get my licence. Am I right in saying that the embassy charge over 3k now for this piece of paper? If I cannot get it tomorrow, i will have to make the trip without it.

http://webuycheaper.com/images/bunk-beds/Sunset-Metal-Twin-Loft-Bunk-Bed.jpg

This sort of thing would do the job I think.

Yes thats the strongest and best way...probably you dont need to be that elaborate though...depends on how much you are willing to spend.

Dont worry about not speaking Thai...just carry a handful of baht sticking out of your top pocket and they will understand, very quickly, what you want...lol.

Dont forget, if you dont get it started real soon, they will make you wait until after New Year....

I will put some drawings together of measurements and take a couple of pictures like the one above.

How much would you estimate this will cost? Any ideas?

If you use 2x1 Box (You can get galvanised in Thailand now) when you design...allow around 450-500baht for a 6 mtr length. That will get you pretty close without the labour costs...A good welder will tell you how many lengths to buy...

That's really awesome mate. Thank you so much for your help and advice.

Im thinking I will use timber to make the bunk and just buy the steel frame. Not sure what to do about the ladder.

http://webuycheaper.com/images/bunk-beds/Sunset-Metal-Twin-Loft-Bunk-Bed.jpg

This sort of thing would do the job I think.

Yes thats the strongest and best way...probably you dont need to be that elaborate though...depends on how much you are willing to spend.

Dont worry about not speaking Thai...just carry a handful of baht sticking out of your top pocket and they will understand, very quickly, what you want...lol.

Dont forget, if you dont get it started real soon, they will make you wait until after New Year....

I will put some drawings together of measurements and take a couple of pictures like the one above.

How much would you estimate this will cost? Any ideas?

If you use 2x1 Box (You can get galvanised in Thailand now) when you design...allow around 450-500baht for a 6 mtr length. That will get you pretty close without the labour costs...A good welder will tell you how many lengths to buy...

That's really awesome mate. Thank you so much for your help and advice.

Im thinking I will use timber to make the bunk and just buy the steel frame. Not sure what to do about the ladder.

another grammer school boy bites the dust

Crikey, is that a pun at my use of the English language?

http://webuycheaper.com/images/bunk-beds/Sunset-Metal-Twin-Loft-Bunk-Bed.jpg

This sort of thing would do the job I think.

Yes thats the strongest and best way...probably you dont need to be that elaborate though...depends on how much you are willing to spend.

Dont worry about not speaking Thai...just carry a handful of baht sticking out of your top pocket and they will understand, very quickly, what you want...lol.

Dont forget, if you dont get it started real soon, they will make you wait until after New Year....

I will put some drawings together of measurements and take a couple of pictures like the one above.

How much would you estimate this will cost? Any ideas?

http://webuycheaper.com/images/bunk-beds/Sunset-Metal-Twin-Loft-Bunk-Bed.jpg

This sort of thing would do the job I think.

I was going to build my own and looked at any great designs like http://www.houzz.com/custom-bunk-beds

But I decided when I saw decent ones for 6000 baht it wasn't worth the bother

Yeah, i thought the same when i first read his post.....but he already has the beds...he just needs a sturdy (being kids) frame to mount the top bunk, i would think.

Thanks for your comment, definitely very helpful. I had not considered steel to be honest but it makes a lot sense. i am trying to do all this without my wife and kids knowing, they are going away for a 7 days to visit family, I have to stay in Bangkok for work. my initial concern is definitely my lack of Thai, I may have to hire a translator for the day.

Well you see the thing is, I have a double bed in their room and a single bed. My plan is to construct a bunk that goes over the double bed. I know you can get these, but i bought the beds and mattresses 6 months ago and dont really want to be getting rid of them just yet.

Having analysed the structural integrity and lateral torsional buckling ratios of available building materials, I am fairly confident that the plan is solid.

And even better....go over your plan again...maybe it's that, what is wrong...

Anyhow....have a Merry Xmas, with the kids.

It would be more then handy for members to help if you could disclose your location.

Good thinking MJCM. I am near Bangna.

Literally getting no where with this so I thought I would ask on here for suggestions.

I am decorating the kids bedroom over Christmas and am finding it difficult to find a bunk bed that fits in with my plans. I am not looking to spend silly money it just need to fit. i have checked IKEA, Next and several other companies but none fit in with my plans.

Any advice or recommendations would be most appreciated.

Thanks

This country seems to be governed by rules of thumb.

There are several reasons that I have not got a Thai licence yet, its just not been possible due to tourist Visa's, visa exemptions etc.. I am now on a non-O so should be fairly straight forward. i am going to get myself down to whatever office they have on Monday and try to get one.

Any advice on what I need to take with me.

Thanks

You are not a resident in Thailand if you have a non-immigrant visa, doesn't matter if you've stayed here a billion years.

You do need an IDP to drive in Thailand especially to cover insurance claims.

I beg to differ. Have been told that if staying in Thailand for the long term then one becomes a resident of Thailand after 3 months and some have said 6 months. Even if not officially a Thai resident, one is no longer a UK resident either.

Although International Driving Licences are valid for up to one year after arrival in Thailand, after three months many comprehensive insurance policies are made void if still driving on a foreign licence.

The 3 month thing is a rule of thumb, and may in fact be in some policies. You would have to check with the insurer. The line between resident and tourist is vague, but most people fall firmly into one or the other.